In the Greater Magellanic Cloud (or Parrakhon star cluster) the
RICHARD BURTON pursues Gon-Orbhon's 6-dimensional jet ray up to
its point of origin. Or at least almost, because the origination
point of the ray, the Parr system, is completely wrapped up in an
energy screen of an indefinable nature. In the nine planet system
several huge ships are observed which carry a cube shaped object
with 500-meters of edge length outside through a gap in the energy
screen.

From radio messages caught, they learn that the gigantic ships are
called Kybb-Titans. The smaller object receives a push, which
rockets it away at a speed of 3000 kms / sec, so that it quickly
moves away from the Par system without engines of its own.
Afterwards, the Kybb-Titans immediately withdraw again behind the
energy screen. The omnipresent Helix torpedoes, which react to all
energy developments typical for ships are clearly a danger for Gon-
Orbhon also.

Ascari da Vivo and her bodyguard Qertan, using access codes
blackmailed from a crewman of the RICHARD BURTON select themselves a
Stealth-Shift and fly with it to the cubic artifact. Reginald Bull
follows them with another Shift, taking along Kantiran, Trerok,
Daellian and a space soldier - plus, the man whom he suspects as the
betrayer blackmailed by Ascari. Because of the detection danger only
low acceleration values may be used, therefore, the flight lasts two
days. Already on the way Kantiran catches the mental message of an
entity that must be in the artifact. When the team penetrates the
cube, Kant is separated from the group. Again he receives contact
with the unknown being. It appears to him in various holo-
projections and continues to mentally communicate with him. The good-
natured being basically knows nothing about itself except for the
fact that it was created to destroy. Bull and his people find
out meanwhile that the cube is nothing less than a practically
cobbled together conglomerate of extremely highly competitive energy
producers and virtual reality projectors.

When the equipment of the cube becomes booted up, the anonymous
being insists that the Galactics should leave. Together with Ascari
and Qertan they leave the artifact – after the Dron shoots the
betrayer, under the guise of defending Kantiran, so that nothing can
be revealed. From the Shift it is observed how the cube changes into
a huge detection beacon. The purpose of the whole thing: To attract
the Helix torpedoes. This works out well - too well for the RICAHRD
BURTON, which retrieves the Shift at the last second. Tens of
thousands of energy torpedoes appear, rush at the beacon and
explode, until presumably thewhole star cluster is cleaned of them.
The RICHARD BURTON is too close to this spectacle; the greater parts
of their so urgently required stocks of hypercrystal are changed to
dust by the hyperenergy development of the explosions. Bull follows
a suggestion of the Gurrads and takes course for their home world
Roewis after leaving an observer ship in place. The mass explosion
still has the second apparent side effect, which was certainly also
not included in Gon-Orbhon's plan: The protective screen of the
Parr system has broken down.